Maps? Get lost!

Maureen Ferrier

We may dread getting lost of car journeys, but more than seven million adults have never used a road map - and 2.5 million of those wouldn’t know how to start using one.

That’s one of the key findings of a survey carried out by Post Office Money Car Insurance looking at how drivers prepare for long journeys.

Gone are the days of arguing over the road map, with one in five people leaving their’s to gather dust for more than three years. In fact, so many UK adults admit to being reliant on technology to get them from A to B that more than one in ten have never used a road map and more than 2.5 million wouldn’t know how to - despite admitting to fears of getting lost en route.

Road maps are particularly unknown to younger adults, with more than a third of people in their twenties having never used one, of which one in ten are unsure of how to use one.

The research also highlighted changing priorities in planning for a long car journey with people now nearly three times more likely to prioritise sorting their music playlist over checking their car insurance. People in their twenties are almost twice as likely to stock up on food and drinks in preparation for a long car journey, than they are to check the road worthiness of their car.

And despite fear of getting lost being high on the list of ‘dreads’ about a long journey, only half of UK adults who have been on a long journey before plan their route before they leave.

Rob Clarkson, Managing Director of Post Office Money Insurance, said: “Our research found that as many as 10 million adults in the UK will take to the roads this year for a holiday. Therefore it is crucial that people take the time to plan ahead and ensure they have a safe journey.”